nanowrimo

my friend, the lovely lisa reid, and i have signed up for national novel writers month (nanowrimo). it begins november 1. in a mad thirty day rush, participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel. the theory is that if you have a deadline, you can get it done. in nanowrimo's eyes it's all about quantity rather than quality. write, write, write. just get it on paper (it's actually more like, "get it into your word processor," but i digress). other writers hold you accountable, cheer you on, offer advice, etc. sounds like fun. it also sounds a little insane...which is why i absolutely have to do it.

i'm no math genius (which you already know if you read my proposal to fix the economy), but i figure we'll have to write a minimum of approximately 1700 words per day to finish. (why didn't nanowrimo select a month with 31 days? i'm sure i'm gonna need that extra day!)

i hope to post what i've written to this blog daily. i've decided to write a story based on a rather tongue in cheek post i made on my myspace blog. it's a silly quip i had about a storyline for a western novel or screenplay. i know how the story begins and ends. all i have to do is write the middle part, right? check it out:

* if i ever write a western novel or screenplay, it will begin thusly:

prairie pete stretched and yawned as the brilliant arizona sunrise roused him from his hearty, well-earned slumber. he’d only been on the trail for two days but he was already hot on the trail of the thieving scoundrels who’d stolen his prized golden spitoon. "they are going to pay dearly for their pilfering," pete muttered to no one within earshot -- no one, that is, except his beloved horse, needles.

spoiler alert!! ;) and here's how it ends:

* if i ever write a western novel or screenplay, it will end thusly:

justice had been served. parson pete (the wrangler and reformed ne’er-do-well formerly known as prairie pete), golden spitoon tucked neatly in his saddlebag, had risen to the formidable challenge and single-handedly defeated the scofflaws. and while the sun silently set over the arizona desert, pete happily chawed and spat and prayed, while into the living rock he carved the names of the dead men.

only 49,866 words to go. i'm gonna need a really big pot of coffee...

want/not want

i've begun a new feature here at ye olde blog called "want/not want." occasionally i'll post an item and you can comment and let us know if you'd want it or not. first up:

Beatles Collector's Box Includes Limited Edition 120GB iPod Classic

want/not want?

the top ten reasons why webchyk loves columbus day

10) pasta for breakfast, lunch, and supper!

9) parades with grown men who don't care how ridiculous they look dressed like christopher columbus -- tights and all.

8) for one day only i don't have to worry about anyone giving me the evil eye.

7) the moment of silence in memory of topo gigio, the italian mouse from the ed sullivan show.

6) i get to answer my phone like they do in italy by saying, "pronto."

5) hear stories about the old country from people who've never been there.

4) don ameche film festival, right in my living room!

3) i get to say things like, "come si dice cio in inglese?" and "parli piu forte" and "favorisca di darmi del pane e del formaggio."

2) nobody tells me how bad my Italian really is.

1) everybody's italian for a day!

travelogue

we're very much experiencing indian summer here. i don't mind so much because i love autumn weather best, and it's an indication that fall's here.

i had to drive up to state college on friday for a meeting. road construction was awful and it added an extra 45 minutes to the usual 2.75 hour drive. i didn't want to be late for my meeting so i didn't stop to take any pix. the scenery was gorgeous. i'm hoping to head up next week just to catch the autumn leaves at their peak. i'll post pix here and at my flickr account.

saturday was another beautiful day and i'd already planned a visit to fallingwater...seems that everyone else did, too! the place was packed so i left without bothering to walk the grounds or anything. ohiopyle was crazy...couldn't find a parking space. i'll make one last nice weather visit to both places next week (but i am hoping the weather stays nice for many more visits).

on the way to and from ohiopyle and fallingwater, you pass all sorts of neat places. one is christ chapel of st. paul's evangelical lutheran church (top right). i'd forgotten my tripod so i couldn't do an hdr of it, so that's on my list for next week. another great place to visit is kentuck knob (left). i took a quick shot of some of the trees -- this was one of the few areas where there weren't any people milling about.

i drove down the mountain and decided i wanted to take some more pix. i went home and grabbed my tripod and headed to brownsville, pa (about 5 minutes from my house), where the river takes a couple of interesting bends. i was crossing the lower bridge when i noticed some barges in the river (right). the sun was almost directly in the camera and since i was in traffic i couldn't adjust the settings, so i set it to automatic and hoped for the best.

last but not least, this is a 3 exposure hdr of the river at fredericktown, pa (left). i'm going to do a few variations on it and perhaps go back and do a 5 exposure. i find hdr imaging fascinating! digital photography makes it very easy since my nikon d80 is more than up for the task. (if you're wondering, i use photomatix software for the tone mapping and exposure blending...and i still have a lot to learn!)

btw, make sure you click on the photos. they'll open much larger in a new window so you can take a good look.

tag, not meta

my sweet friend, the lovely lisa reid, has tagged me (make sure you subscribe to her blog, put it on the list). lisa's celebrating her one year blogivesary. congrats, girlfriend! anyway, i guess this makes me the "it" girl. har. i'm supposed to tell you six things that no one knows about me and tag six other people so they can tell you about themselves, and so on and so forth. if you decide to play along, please comment so other folks will know to read your blog (i've included the links 'cause you're all so great i want folks to check out your blogs regardless of whether you play or not).

and...we're off...

1. i drove a tow truck once. yes, there was a car attached to it. no, it wasn't mine (neither the car nor the truck). i managed to safely reach my destination.

2. in the early '80s i volunteered for our local ambulance service as an ambulance driver. i'm not into first aid at all, but i do like flashing lights, sirens, and driving really, really fast -- especially the driving really, really fast part.

3. i worry, therefore, i am.

4. most kids have dogs, cats, or other domesticated animals for pets. i had a raccoon. i hand raised him from a baby (bottle feedings, the whole nine yards) and eventually released him.

5. my dream home is an early, authentic craftsman.

6. if i'm going to be late to an event, i'd rather not go at all.

now, for my six tags:

• mindless ramblings and trivial things: c'mon girl. you need to blog more. you know you wanna.
• twdq: not entirely on topic for dave's blog, but he's so awesome that i want to know more about him.
• raw faith...real world: linda b! you just know she's cool by her rapperesque name.
• bernieville: i'm pretty sure bernie's reading this. shout out to bernie! now, get to blogging!!
• the note head: i've known chris since we were kids. tell us more about yourself, chris! :)

i'm gonna cheat a little here...we did this on our myspace blogs awhile back. i've included one extra link. if any of y'all want to post new lists, please do so. i'll just link to your current myspace blogs:

• thought bubble: laura makes me laugh and cry -- sometimes at the same time. brilliant, witty, and introspective without losing perspective. great stuff.
• carolyn arends: she's cool, even with her veggie aversion! this link will take you to carolyn's wrestling with angels blog, where she parks her various columns.

ok, more bloggy goodness soon. ciao!

chili cook off

here are a few pix from the weekend before last, when i attended the chili cook off at christian klay winery in chalk hill, pa. i just used my cell cam, so forgive the poor quality. first, the mountains were hazy on the way up (left), but it later turned out to be a beautiful day. after the chili cook off (unmemorable, except for some GREAT nachos from the chef from nemacolin woodlands), i stopped by ohiopyle then drove past fallingwater. i laugh everytime i see the fire hydrant in front of the fallingwater sign (right). frank lloyd wright, take that!

one final comment: sharon klay, founder of christian klay winery -- she looks a bit like spidey's aunt mae, don't ya think?

@ the hhc

i spent sunday at the heinz history center. it's a great place to visit and an even better place to take out of town guests.

i happened to visit on the day they were filming for a new kdka show, "pittsburgh's hidden treasures." my friend gregg works for viewpoint productions, who were providing production assistance to kd. it seemed a good chance to say hey to gregg (even though i'd seen him and other vp acquaintances the day before) and to have some family artwork appraised.

the bad news: i stood in line for 4.5 hours. seriously. 4.5 hours. i saw gregg (and another vp friend) very briefly...there were reports that about 1100 people showed up. here's a shot i took of the insanity with my phone cam -- the studio lighting in the great hall really blew it out, but if you're familiar at all with the hhc, the line wound from outside around the block through the gift store, through the cafe, and back around through the cafe and gift shop again. wild!

lest i forget, the good news: the art is worth several thousand dollars. cool.